The Planet Workshop
In order to make children aged 6–16 act and think more socially and environmentally sustainable we redesigned the planet workshop at youth club Midtbyklubben, Denmark. The Planet Workshop is a room where children can come to do different kinds of upcycling in workshops hosted by pedagogues.
Our field research showed that upcycling was already done in the club, but was not leading to a change in the children’s awareness of sustainability. Pedagogues also tried to invite and engage children into the former planet workshop space but without much success. The space was also sparingly used as the leader of the club reserved it for external parties.
The redesign
We started with a face-lift of the space using paint and plants. We used nature inspired colours on the walls and doors to create a more focused and serene atmosphere.On the far wall we created a statement wall with the phrase “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” for the children to understand the purpose of the room. We installed an exhibition shelf for pedagogues to showcase examples of their workshops.
In order to make it easier for the pedagogues to use the space we printed and laminated a set of upcycling tutorials and we created a station for the pedagogues to laminate their own.
To teach children about the importance of reusing and recycling waste, we created a material collection station outside of the planet workshop. Children can bring waste materials from home to be used inside the planet workshop at the club. The station can be adjusted so that different materials can be collected. Inside the planet workshop be created a closet with organization system to store the materials that are collected outside of the workshop.
To inform the pedagogues of the club about the changes to the planet workshop and as a short guide for new users of the space we created a booklet in which they can read what the space is aimed at and which rules should be followed to keep the space clean and safe for everyone to use.
